Barclays won shareholder support today for its €62 billion (£42 billion) bid to acquire ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, but said that it was not committed to a deal at any price.
Northern Rock Plc's share price plunge after needing a lifeline from the Bank of England has turned the mortgage lender into a stricken target, more likely than ever to fall prey to a takeover bid.
The dollar rebounded against the yen and euro on Thursday as investors resumed buying the U.S. currency after nearly a week of declines, although expectations of a cut in U.S. interest rates capped gains.
The Malaysia unit of Asia-focused lender Standard Chartered Bank Plc hopes to apply for an Islamic banking license in the country within a year, it said on Thursday.
Britain's Barclays said its investment bank arm traded profitably last month and its prospects remain strong, despite the credit market turmoil, but the bank's offer for ABN AMRO could be beaten.
Shares in Britain's Barclays Plc, battered over the past two months, rose more than 3 percent on Monday after a weekend charm offensive helped further ease concerns over the bank's financial health.
Barclays was recovering from a week of bad headlines, denials and late-night statements on Friday, as analysts said there was little substance to the frenzy and few harbored genuine worries over the bank's health.
The U.S. Justice Department and other authorities have stepped up investigations into several large European banks for violating sanctions against Iran, Libya, Cuba and Sudan, the Financial Times reported in its online edition.
British bank Barclays has no plans to walk away from the battle for ABN AMRO despite a growing gap between its bid and a competing offer, sources close to the matter said on Wednesday.
The dollar rose against the euro, but fell against the yen on Monday, as investors attempted to minimize exposure to risky assets amid lingering fears of a global credit crisis.
Decades pass but the story remains the same -- financial markets lurch from boom to bust, central banks rush in to avert disaster and their rescue operation sets the scene for yet another boom-bust sequel.
A group of major banks meeting in a conference call with U.S. monetary policy officials expressed strong support for the Federal Reserve's move on Friday to bring stability to volatile financial markets by reducing the discount lending rate.
European stocks extended their losses on Friday, losing more than 2 percent as a deepening concern surrounding the U.S. subprime mortgage market continued to hit stocks worldwide and pushed U.S. futures in the red.
Shares in Dutch bank ABN AMRO fell as much as 11 pct on Friday as analysts cited a report that Fortis may find it difficult to finance its part of the deal to buy ABN together with Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander.
Belgian-Dutch financial services group Fortis reported a 16 percent year-on-year rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating analysts' expectations due to strong banking results.
Dutch bank ABN AMRO is continuing to hold talks with the Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium which has offered 71 billion euros ($97 billion) for the Netherlands' largest bank in a bidding war with British bank Barclays, the two groups said on Sunday.